The 2025 NBA Re-Draft conversation may be hypothetical, but it already tells us what's oh-so-important about team building: sometimes the best pick isn't the guy with the cleanest box score. It's the guy who solves your franchise's most desperate needs. And in a world where it is reported that Khaman Maluach is sliding to the Chicago Bulls at No. 12. Notching that selection would feel more like a strategy than luck.
Maluach hasn't lit up box scores for the Phoenix Suns—or cracked their rotation effectively. But that isn't the point. For the Bulls, who've lacked a steadfast defensive anchor for years, his archetype is the kind of foundational piece a rebuild should covet.